Sunday, April 19, 2015
Panthers Hold on to Take Series From Mavs With 5-4 Win
ARLINGTON, Texas – After leading 5-0 in the third inning, Georgia State’s softball team held on to win 5-4 at UT Arlington and win the series Sunday behind 11 hits, including three solo home runs.
Katie Worley recorded the win today, throwing 4.1 innings and allowing just one hit. Worley struck out three and now owns an 8-7 record on the year. Thorpe got the start, but was chased after giving up four runs on four hits and walking three. At the plate, Ivie Drake reached base in all four at-bats, hitting a single and drawing three walks. Ashley Christy provided the power, going 2-for-4 with a double and home run.
Christy looked to get the fireworks going early, just barely missing a home run as the game’s second batter. Her double off the wall led to the first run of the day as Megan Litumbe put GSU on the board with a sac fly that scored Christy. Georgia State put up a crooked number in the second inning that all started with Kensey Caldwell’s 10th homer of the season. Mandy Blackwell then came home on a Taylor Anderson sac fly. Christy didn’t miss in her second at bat, sending a line drive over the fence with two outs to extend the Panthers lead to 4-0.
UT Arlington threatened in the bottom of the second, but Thorpe worked around two baserunners to escape the inning untouched. The Mavericks went to a new pitcher to start the third and Callie Alford greeted them with a solo shot, making it 5-0. The Panthers looked to be on their way to a blowout, but Thorpe ran into trouble in the bottom half of the inning.
After a walk and back-to-back doubles, the Mavericks trailed 5-2. With two outs, UTA’s Meagan Michele hammered a two-run blow to pull her team within one. Now with Katie Worley in the circle, the game sped up as neither team could string multiple hits together. After a combined nine runs in the first three frames, both sides were held scoreless over the final four.
UT Arlington made things interesting in the bottom of the seventh. The tying run advanced to second base with a sac bunt and just one out. Worley then walked Nina Villanueva to set up a possible game-ending double play, putting the winning run on first. The first pitch to the next batter was in the dirt, but Drake was quick out of her stance and threw out the runner trying to advance to third for the last out. The Panthers came out of the dugout to celebrate, but the umpires sent them back and declared that the batter had been hit by the pitch. With the bases loaded and two outs, Worley dug in and threw it right past Michele to end the ballgame and preserve the 5-4 victory.
Georgia State (30-17, 9-9 SBC) is back at it Wednesday as the team heads to Athens, Ga. to face the No. 7 Bulldogs of Georgia.
Follow along with Georgia State on Twitter (@GSU_Softball) and Facebook for the latest news. For softball season tickets call 404-403-4020 or click here.?
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Troy Softball Completes Sweep Against Georgia Southern
STATESBORO, Georgia – The Troy softball team completed the sweep on Sunday at Eagle Field as it defeated Georgia Southern, 13-1, in five innings.
Amanda Winters and Carli Kayler both had four RBIs each in the game as Winters went 2-for-4 with a home run and a triple and Kayler went 1-for-4 with a home run.
Troy (29-19, 11-7) scored six runs on three hits in the first inning of the game. Hannah Day singled home Kate Benton for the first run of the game. Winters got her first RBI of the game as she reached base on an error by the Eagle second baseman. The next batter up, Khadija Neely singled to center field and knocked in another run that gave Troy a 3-0 lead. Three more runs scored in the inning on two walks and a hit by pitch with the bases loaded.
With two outs in the top of the second, Winters blasted a ball to right field for a solo home run that gave Troy a 7-0 lead. Two batters later, Kayler belted a ball to right center field for a three-run shot.
The Trojans strung a few hits together and added three more runs on the board. Winters legged out a two-RBI triple and Neely, the next batter, drove in Winters with a single to left field.
Jaycee Affeldt (15-8) pitched all five innings and only allowed one earned run and struck out eight.
The Trojans pounded out 11 hits that came from eight different players. Six different Trojans had at least one RBI in the contest.
Morgan Robinson had all the offense this weekend for Georgia Southern (12-32, 4-17 Sun Belt) as she hit a RBI double in the third inning for the Eagles only run of the game.
The Trojans will conclude their 10-game road trip on Tuesday as they travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a game with No. 6 Alabama set to begin at 6 p.m.
For more information on Troy softball visit TroyTrojans.com or follow us on Twitter at @TroyTrojansSB.
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Rain Washes Out Softball Series Finale at App State
BOONE, N.C. - Continuous rain in the Boone, N.C., area forced the cancellation of Sunday's softball game between the No. 9-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns and Appalachian State. The game will not be made up.
Louisiana (34-5, 17-3 SBC) will return to action on Friday (April 24) when it visits No. 1-ranked Oregon in a three-game series at Howe Field. First pitch for Friday's opener is 6 p.m. CDT with a Saturday doubleheader set for 2 p.m. CDT.
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No. 22 Jaguar Softball's Sun Belt Series Versus Texas State Cancelled
MOBILE, Ala. – No. 22 University of South Alabama softball's Sunday doubleheader versus Texas State has been canceled due to field conditions made unplayable by heavy rains in the area throughout the week.
No make up date will be scheduled. The Jaguars and Bobcats were originally scheduled to take part in a Saturday doubleheader and Sunday finale.
USA travels to Hattiesburg, Miss., this Wednesday to face Southern Mississippi. The Jaguars defeated the Eagles, 9-1, in six innings in Mobile on March 18.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).